Floronic Man

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The Floronic Man is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He was created as an enemy of the Atom, who remains his regular nemesis and still fights on a fairly regular basis, but his most famous appearance was in the Swamp Thing comic, particularly when it was written by Alan Moore.

[edit] Fictional character biography

A bio-chemical mishap turned Jason Woodrue into a plant-human creature, similar to the titular Swamp Thing, but with a more vengeful nature and an obsession with protecting the plant world from what he perceives as an assault by humanity. He nearly achieved this goal once by using his newly gained control over plants to make them produce excess oxygen, to the point that the slightest spark would cause devastating fires around the world. Woodrue was foiled when the Swamp Thing pointed out that this attempt was in fact devastating the plants since killing all the oxygen breathers would mean cutting off the production of carbon dioxide that plants need to live; the plant world rejected Woodrue as a result and he went insane. He was then apprehended by the Justice League.

The Floronic Man is responsible for mutating Poison Ivy, was instrumental in discovering the true nature of the Swamp Thing, and has fought the JLA on several occasions. The 1988 Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean miniseries Black Orchid recast Dr. Jason Woodrue as a University professor who taught Botany to Philip Sylvian, Alec & Linda Holland, and Pamela Isley. The character Philip Sylvian, apparently unaware of Woodrue's transformation, referred to him as a "poor old guy" and stated: "Last I heard he was in Arkham Insane Asylum..."

As the marijuana product in Gotham City grew, it was discovered that the Floronic Man was behind it all, believing that marijuana could save the world.

Poison Ivy discovers the one who sprung her from Arkham - None other than Floronic Man, the man who transformed her into Poison Ivy

After breaking Poison Ivy out of Arkham with his two henchwomen Holly and Eva, Floronic Man proceded to explain his past to Batman and Poison Ivy, telling the story of how he prevented a plot of Swamp Thing's, only to get decapitated. After scientists managed to keep his head alive, the first thing he came in contact with was marijuana. Regenerating a plant body, he began his quest to flood the streets of Gotham City with his advanced and cheap pot. Making a plan, Floronic Man took some of Poison Ivy's DNA in order to experiment and mix with his own in an attempt to create a "child". Poison Ivy, in exchange, got a trunk full of dope money, and was free to walk away. However, she decided that she didn't want Floronic Man running the world, so she let the tied-up Batman go, and after a short battle, Batman noticed that "Floro" was standing in a puddle, and tore down a cable from the ceiling. After grounding Floro to the spot by electrocuting him, Batman managed to decapitate him once again. Poison Ivy, after taking out Holly and Eva, paralyzed Batman with a kiss, leaving him in the tunnels below Gotham while she took off with her money.

He was recently a member of an incarnation of the Injustice Gang. The Floronic Man was briefly a hero, after the events of Millennium led to him becoming a member of the New Guardians. After the death of most of his teammates, he seems to have reverted to his original status as a villain.

The character has appeared in various other comics and storylines: In a recent issue of Batman, he was killed after assassins shot him repeatedly with bullets, although this is in direct contrast to his most famous appearance (in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #21) in which he pointed out that "you can't kill a vegetable by shooting it through the head." He is one of the many villains who was mind-wiped by the JLA, but has since recovered those memories.

The Floronic Man returns in Infinite Crisis #7 and Swamp Thing #27-29.

[edit] Other media

• An unmutated Jason Woodrue appears in the 1997 film Batman & Robin as a corrupt scientist responsible for the origins of Bane and Poison Ivy. He is killed by Poison Ivy after she gives him a poisonous kiss. Woodrue was portrayed by John Glover.

• The Disney supervillain Dr. Reginald Bushroot from the cartoon Darkwing Duck appears to have been inspired by the Floronic Man; he shares many of Woodrue's powers, ambitions and methodologies and was similarly transformed into a sentient plant-being.